Once again we want to say” Thank you” for your business. For almost 30 years we have been providing safety equipment, services, and solutions for many companies in the Midwest. This would not be possible without you, our valued customer. Thanks for your business and support in 2007!!!!

DAYSTAR SAFETY SERVICES

We have a CAOHC certification and re-certification training course scheduled for January 22nd-24th at our facility in North Kansas City, Missouri. For more information or to register go to www.daystarsafety.com.

Most Frequently Cited OSHA Standards

The following were the top 10 most frequently cited standards in fiscal year 2007 (October 2006 through September 2007):

OSHA today published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register for a new fit-testing protocol--the Abbreviated Bitrex Qualitative Fit-Testing (ABQLFT) protocol--under Appendix A of the agency's respiratory protection standard. Public comments are being accepted until Feb. 25, 2008.

"This proposed rule will add a new fit-test method that has a shorter exercise duration than the current methods," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "This method will give employers additional flexibility in selecting procedures for conducting fit-testing."

The rule would add the ABQLFT as an alternative to the four existing OSHA-approved qualitative fit-test protocols. The ABQLFT protocol currently listed in the existing OSHA-approved Bitrex fit-test protocol in the respiratory protection standard would shorten the duration for each of the seven fit-test exercises from one minute to 15 seconds.

The proposed protocol would apply to employers in general industry, shipyard employment, and the construction industry.

Comments may be submitted to the federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, or by sending three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC, 20210. If the written submission is ten pages or less it may be sent through fax to 202-693-1648. All comments must include the docket number OSHA 2007-0006.

OSHA Touts FY2007 Enforcement Record, Surpasses
Inspections Goal

December 29, 2007

OSHA has released its annual enforcement statistics, and the agency says the numbers confirm its enforcement programs are producing positive results for American workers. In FY2007, OSHA conducted 39,324 total inspections, a 4.3 percent increase over its stated goal of 37,700. Total violations of OSHA's standards and regulations were 88,846, a 6 percent increase from FY2006. The agency cited 67,176 serious violations, 9 percent more than the previous year and more than 12 percent more than in the past four years. The number of cited repeat violations also rose from 2,551 in FY2006 to 2,714 in FY2007.

"The fact that OSHA surpassed its inspection goal for FY 2007 proves our enforcement commitment remains strong," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin Foulke Jr. "The significant increase in citations for serious and repeat violations documents OSHA's focus on identifying and eliminating severe hazards in the workplace."

Fatality and injury and illness rates have continued to decline to record lows, the agency says. The injury and illness incidence rate of 4.4 per 100 employees for calendar year 2006 was the lowest that the Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS has ever recorded. Workplace fatality rates hit an all-time low in CY 2006 with 3.9 fatalities per 100,000 employees. For more on OSHA's enforcement statistics, visit http://www.osha.gov/dep/enforcement/enforcement_results_07.html

Wichita ASSE Chapter  January 7th  11:30 AM to 1 PM  ISI Building  For more information please contact Corey Beacom at 316-269-6647 or at beacom.corey@dol.gov. To RSVP go to gilpin.lisa@dol.gov by November 30th.

Wichita Area Construction Safety Group  January 11th  11:30 AM to 1 PM  Ryan’s Steakhouse on North Rock Road  For more information please contact Tamara Hadley at 316-264-7050 or at constructionsafety@isienvironmental.com.

Mid-Missouri Section ASSE  January 17th  11:30 AM to 1 PM  OTSCON, Inc  Columbia, Mo. - Please RSVP to Kathy Cowan-Smith by email at k.cowan-smith@otscon.com or 573-474-7066 x 115 by NOON Monday, January 15th, 2007. Cancelled RSVP’s must also be received by this date due to catering of the lunch.

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